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When disaster strikes, technology is first responders’ critical partner

BERLIN, Germany – May 14, 2018 – In recent years, rapid urbanisation trends are accompanied by global climate changes and a dramatic increase of natural disasters. As government agencies and first responders strive to provide the best response, it’s becoming clear that technology will play a greater role in building more resilient communities. Motorola Solutions will share its vision for the future of disaster response technologies at Critical Communications World 2018 (May 15-17, Berlin, Germany, booth C10).

The number of natural disasters has dramatically increased in the past decades, as the world today sees three times as many disasters than three decades ago[i]. Public safety agencies around the world know that when disaster strikes, communication is often limited or non-existent, so they must rely on the most resilient and deployable communications solutions. For the past 90 years, Motorola Solutions has been providing customers these robust land mobile radio (LMR) solutions that are built to remain operational during large-scale natural events and provide interoperability between responding agencies.

Broadband and software solutions providing a bigger, clearer picture
Purpose-built public safety LTE solutions of recent years are providing more and more data critical for the understanding of complex situations typical in large-scale natural disasters, allowing better coordination between agencies. Motorola Solutions’ latest ultra-portable LTE infrastructure, LXN 500, enables agencies to quickly deploy a data-rich LTE network virtually anywhere. With just less than 6 kilograms of weight, LXN 500 can be carried in a variety of forms, including backpacks or light vehicles. It also boasts a mesh feature, allowing extension of coverage by deploying several units.

Motorola Solutions envisions a near future where more and more data is fed into Command Center solutions, providing decision makers a wider view of events before, during and after an incident. Historical data will be analysed to help predict which areas can be more susceptible to floods or other incidents, while aggregated live video feeds provide a view of what is happening at various sites. Events and responses built into a timeline will be reviewed after the incident to determine best courses of action in the future.

Make way for augmented reality, drones and data sensors
The abundance of data available from various sources - such as earthquake and flood sensors, weather data and even social media - can clearly provide critical information before, during and after a natural disaster, helping decision-makers make the right call and get the right first responders in on time. However, it’s becoming clear that this abundance of data poses great challenges, namely analysing and presenting the information in a relevant and actionable manner.

With this in mind Motorola Solutions is investing in companies and technologies that can greatly impact the future of disaster response and management. The company’s latest investment in Edgybees, presents a great opportunity in visualising real-time data for decision makers. Motorola Solutions and Edgybees will demonstrate at CCW in Berlin how augmented reality integrated with live drone footage can provide an immersive experience for control room and incident managers.

Paul Steinberg, Motorola Solutions CTO: “As leaders in public safety technology, we are committed to exploring technology-driven solutions to our customers’ challenges. Smart sensors and data sources, broadband capabilities as well as new technologies like AR and drones can help us deliver rich, real-time intelligence to public safety users during the moments that matter.”

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